A program to ensure that every basic school child within the Achiase and Birim South districts in the Eastern Region enjoys free orange a day has been launched.
The initiative, being implemented by Eastfield Foundation, an independent and development-oriented Non-Governmental Organisation, will boost local consumption of orange products among children and adults.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the Chairman of the foundation, Nimo Ahinkorah, announced that the foundation has put together the initiative to augment the health needs of school-going children.
“Although these communities are blessed with luscious orange farms, most of these children can only get oranges if their parents buy them or after they’ve gone to work in farms which should not be the case,” he said
According to him, apart from boosting local consumption of orange products, it will also serve as one of the channels the foundation can give back and make a real impact in the community where its parent corporation, Eastfield Farms is situated.
For him, the foundation wants to share this success with all the people who trusted and supported Eastfield Farms Ltd and the Orange Growers Association.
Mr Ahinkorah said, “the foundation chose to focus on children because they are most the vulnerable and constitute the future of society, it is therefore imperative that we provide basic needs of good health before we move to other needs.”
He said the foundation’s target is to provide all school children within the two districts with an orange every day but will pilot the initiative with each child consuming an orange every Wednesday whilst in school.
” The hope is that the Orange Growers Association will also join this initiative and enable the foundation to provide oranges for each child every day instead of the current every Wednesday.
As part of the gesture, the chairman stated that the foundation hopes to provide scholarships to brilliant but needy school children to further their education.
It also intends to build libraries and refurbish dilapidated schools within the districts.
For now, the Korkroso D/A Basic, Adinkrom D/A Basic, Oforikrom D/A Basic, Siawkrom D/A Basic and Abidjan D/A Kindergarten are the beneficiary schools in the two districts.
On his part, the Achiase district director of education, Samuel Wadie Kwae, commended the Eastfield Foundation for their benevolence and entreated other corporate bodies and individuals to emulate and support school children in deprived areas.
Mr Klenam Koku Fiadzoe, president of Eastfield Foundation, said his outfit was hoping that orange juice will be served at official functions as a way of encouraging the patronage of orange made products because of its enormous health benefits.”
At the function, teachers were also given freshly squeezed orange juice and Aqua Blue mineral water donated by ASEDA Industries and Nestle’s Chocomilo by Triple D Ventures.
In attendance were the Head of the Inspectorate division, Wilson Amponsah, School Improvement Support Officer, Dickson Aboagye of the Achiase district directorate of education.
Also present were Samuel Abudu of the Orange Growers Association and other representatives of Eastfield Farms